Car-coupling.



.'N. 832,980. PATENTED 00T. 9, 1906.

- W. KELso.

GAB, COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 18, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A TTOHNE Y 1HE NoRRls rlrxns cu., wAsHmcmN, u. c.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEicE.

CAR-CQUPLING..

.T0 LZ-Z whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM KELso, a citi- Zen of the United States, and a resident of Pittsburg, in thecounty of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Car-Coupling, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to car-couplings, my more particular object being to enable a number of movements to be controlled at Will and to provide a number of improvements, as hereinafter described, and pointed out in the accompanying claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all Vthe figures.

Figure 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a coupling-head provided with my invention. Fig..2 is a vertical section through the same, taken upon the line 2 2 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section upon the line 3 3 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the sliding member used as a locking-pin. Fig. 5 is a section somewhat similar to Fig. 2,.but showing the sliding member raised into a different position. Fig. 6 is a view similar to Figs. 2 and 5, but showing the sliding member 22 raised to its eXtreme upper position by means of the lifter 26 and Fig. 7 is a horizontal section upon the line 7 7 of Fig. 6 looking in the direction of the arrow.

The coupling-head is shown at 9 and is integrally provided with a barrel 8, with a vertical sleeve 10, and with a lug 11, this lug being disposed upon the interior of the barrel 8. The knuckle is shown at 12, and is mounted upon the pin 13. This knuckle is provided with shoulders 14, disposed adjacent to the ears 15, which are integral with the head 9. The knuckle 12 is provided with awing 16, movable therewith, this wing having upon its under side a shoulder 17 of the shape indicated by dotted lines in Figs. 3 and 7. A bell-crank 18 is mounted upon a pivot 19 and is free to swing in a horizontal plane. This bell-crank is provided with a rounded surface 20 of theshape indicated in Figs. 5 and 6 and also with a rounded projection 21. This projection engages the shoulder 17, so that when the bell-crank 18 rotatespartially upon the pivot 19 the projection causes the Specification of Letters Patent.

Application nea July is, i904., serial 110.217,02?.

Patented Oct. 9, 1906.

knuckle 12 to swing open, as indicated in Fig. 7. The sliding member 22 answers the purpose of a locking-pin and is provided upon its upper end with flanges 23, integral therewith, so as to engage the upper surface of the sleeve 10, thereby acting as a limitingstop for said sliding member. This sliding member 22 is provided with a recess 24 and with a web 25, as indicated more particularly in Fig. 2. A lifter 26 is provided with a toe 26a and with a heel 26h and is mounted upon a rod 27, which is connected with the uncoupling -lever (not shown) and may be thereby raised or lowered at the will of the operator. The sliding member 22 is further provided internally with a shoulder 28, serv-v ing as a limiting-stop for the heel 2Gb when the lifter 26 is raised. The toe 26a projects slightly under the bevel surface 10 of the barrel 8, (see Fig.2,) and thus locks the sliding member 22 against upward movement eX- cept when the lifter 26 is raised. The lifter 26 therefore performs the double function of locking the member 22 in a predetermined position, as indicated in Fig. 2, and of raising this member into two other positions, as indicated, respectively, in Figs. 5 and 6.

The sliding member 22 is still'further prfvided with a pin 28a, having a prop 29 inte-- `grally Vconnected therewith and movable upon the same as a pivot. This prop is of the shape indicated in Figs. 2, 3, and 5 and is provided with a substantially wedge-shaped point 30, which is adapted to engage a recess 31 in the bottom of the barrel 8. This slidingmember 22 is also provided at its lower end with a mutilation 34, whereby the member 22 is adapted to clear the rounded surface 2O of the bell-crank 18. The wing 16 is provided with a bevel 32 of a conformity approximating that of the upper end of the prop 29, as indicated in Fig. 2, and also with a curved facet or bevel 33.

The operation of my device is as follows: The several parts normally occupy the positions indicated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, which represent the coupler in such condition thatthe knuckle 12 is closed-that is, the knuckle occupies the position which it usually occupies when it is ready forpulling cars. If now it be desired to nncouple the cars, the trainman raises the lifter 26 by means of the rod 27 thereby carrying upward the sliding member 22 into the position indicated in Fig. 5. The prop 29 is thus raised from its position indicated in Fig. 2 to that indicated in ICO ITO

Fig. 5, the point 30 of the propthereupon passing into the recess 31. The lifter 26 may now be released, whereupon it drops downward, resting loosely upon the web 25 and against the smooth inner surface of the sleeve 1.0... The: knuckle 12 is now free to move outwardly for the reason that the upper end of the prop 29 has been raised out ofv the bevel 32, as will be understood fromy Figs. 3 andV 5. The trainman may leave the parts in this position, so that when the cars are moved apart the knuckle 12 will be opened or moved into the position indicated in Fig. 7, thus severing the train. As the knuckle 12 swings open the wing 16 is moved angularly, so that the face 33 moves against the prop 29, as will be understood from Fig. 5, thus moving the prop 29 upon the pivot 28 as a center, so that the point 30 of the prop is raised out of the recess 31, and the sliding member 22 descends by its vown weight, so as to rest loosely upon the wing 16. The parts occupy this position so long as the knuckle 12 remains open. As the wing 16 moves still further around'the .sliding mem-I ber 22 merely rests loosely upon it, .being otherwise unsupported. 12 be moved back into its position indicated in Fig. 3, the sliding member 22 drops to its position indicated in Fig. 2 and prevents fur-` ther movement of the wing 16 in either direction, thereby holding the knuckle 12 rigidly in its closed or normal position. (Indicated in Figs. 1 and 3.) Suppose, however, (the parts being in the position indicated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3,) that the trainman desires to open the knuckle 12 rather than to leave the same in such position that it can'be opened by the movements of the rollingstock. To accomplish this, he raises the sliding vmember 22 to the point indicated in Fig. 6, this point being higher than the one indicated in Fig. 5. The prop 29 is thus raised'into the position indicated in this view, Fig. 6, so that its upper and lower portions respectively engage the lug 11, which is 'stationary within the barrel 8, and the rounded surface 20, which is integral with the bell-crank 18. The pressure of the prop 29 against .the rounded surface 20 of the bellcrank causes the bell-crank to swing angularly around upon the pivot 19, as will be uni' derstood `from Fig. 7, so that the rounded projection 21 forces the shoulder 17 outward, thus opening the knuckle 12. If now the knuckle 12 be moved slightly backward or inward, the wing 16 again engages the prop 29, lifting the point 30 from the recess 31 and allowing the sliding member 22 to again rest upon the wing 16. The knuckle 12 being afterward closed, thesliding member 22 again drops into its lowermost position. (Indicated in Fig. 2.) This last-mentioned movement of the wing 16 restores the bell-crank 18 to its normal position for the reason'that If now the knuckley the shoulder 17 moves against the rounded projection 21 and causes the bell-crank to swing radially upon the pivot 19.

The wing 16 is provided with a tail 16a integral therewith, which passes through an aperture 16b in the head 9 andserves to hold the wing in place in case the pin 13 happens to break. S i I desire to state that the lifting device for the locking member subserves a very limportant additional function in the event of breakage of any of the-devicesordinarily termed draft-rigging since in such event or when either of the coupling-heads breaks at the shank thereof, thus enabling one or the other of the coupling-heads to pull out beyond its normalposition, the chain connection to the l lifting device of thebrokenl head will so operate the lifter as to lift orraise its locking member, thereby causing the knuckle of this particular coupling head to be carried outwardly, and thus allowing the cars to separate, the broken coupling-head remaining on that one ofthe cars to which it belongs.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentwith, a movable locking member for temporarily holding said wing in a redetermined position, mechanism control able by said movable locking member and adapted to actuate said wing for the purpose of causing the said knuckle to swing open, and means controllable at will for actuating said movable locking. member, said means having a rearwardly extending portion adapted to engage with a portion of the coupling-head for preventing release of the locking member except by operation of said means.

2. In a car-coupling, the combination of a barrel provided with a recess, a knuckle pivotallyconnected with said barrel and provided with a portion having a bevel, a locking member movable into and out of the path of said movable member, and a prop mounted upon said locking member, said prop being provided with a portion to be engaged by said bevel, and also with a portion for engaging said recess.

3. In a car-coupling, the combination of a knuckle, a movable locking member for temporarily holding the knuckle in a predetermined position, and mechanism controllable by the movements of the locking member for swinging said knuckle to o en position, said mechanism comprising a evice pivoted to the locking member, a stationary abutment therefor, and a bell-crank lever.

4. In a car-coupling, the combination of a knuckle, a locking member for engaging and disengaging the same, said locking member being provided with a recess having an inner web on its base, a hollow head for supporting IOO TOI'

ITO

the knuckle and said'locking member, and provided with a sleeve for encircling the locking member, and a lifter freely located within said recess and formed at its lower end with a toe and a heel normally seating on opposite sides of said web.

5. In a car-coupling, the combination of a head provided with a sleeve and with a recess, a knuckle mounted upon said head and free to swing relatively thereto, a hollow locking member slidably mounted within said sleeve and adapted to restrict certain movements ofthe knuckle, said locking member being provided with an inner shoulder and having an inner Web on its base, and a lifter loose within the recess, shaped to fit the web and normally seated thereon, and provided with a projecting portion for engaging said shoulder to rigidly secure said locking member in a predetermined position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specication in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM KELSO. 

